The Created In Fantasy: Warforged, Clockwerks, and other Magical Androids

[FitzTheRuke]

*It occurs to me that I have never seen warforged art that shows a warforged shaped more like a dwarf or dragonborn or other non human PC species. Huh.

After reading this comment, I tried to get an AI art program to make me a Harengon-inspired Warforged. I either failed, or succeeded too well. You choose:

 

[Fifinjir]

A country with a major influence on the backstory was ruled by a sapient construct designed to be the ultimate king. That didn’t entire pan out, but he was trying his best and made it work for a decent number of centuries. I haven’t come up with what happened to him yet.

 

[Tonguez]

A country with a major influence on the backstory was ruled by a sapient construct designed to be the ultimate king. That didn’t entire pan out, but he was trying his best and made it work for a decent number of centuries. I haven’t come up with what happened to him yet.

ATTEND: BookTenTiger? We did this thread in 2022 wasnt it? https://www.enworld.org/threads/help-me-brainstorm-a-kingdom-ruled-by-a-golem.693163/

 

[Corinnguard]

1st and 2nd edition Pathfinder had the Android Race. They basically looked like humans with circuit patterns etched across their bodies.

 

[Corinnguard]

Then there were the Automatons from Pathfinder 2nd edition whose bodies contained the life force of a sentient being within their core.

 

[Corinnguard]

Here's the background information of both races:

Android: Android - Ancestries - Archives of Nethys: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Database

Automaton: Automaton - Ancestries - Archives of Nethys: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Database

 

[aramis erak]

Warforged (from Eberron) came up in another thread and I thought I would start a side discussion about Created beings in fantasy. They are fairly common -- mostly in steampunk, but also outside of it -- but usually have a strong sense of other and often push the boundaries of the genre we broadly refer to as "fantasy." For example, from my perspective, warforged are a very cyberpunk element of Eberron, which already has some pretty strong cyberpunk vibes (such as Dragonmarked Houses as megacorps).

For the purposes of this discussion, i want to identify the Created as those creatures that resemble sci-fi androids: human in form but easily discernable from actual humans (or other races*) who were intentionally created by mortals (usually humans) to do their bidding but have since gained their freedom or are fighting for it.

In Arrowflight 1e, one subspecies of goblin was created from a natural one by badly botched magic which had attempted to enslave them. Turned them evil, but not obedient... But those aren't available as PCs.

*It occurs to me that I have never seen warforged art that shows a warforged shaped more like a dwarf or dragonborn or other non human PC species. Huh.

What fantasy TTRPGs have Created PC "races"? How do they treat them? Have you used the Created in your campaign(s)? How? Why? How do you feel they interact with the idea of "fantasy" -- especially in its vaguely high medieval era assumed milieu?

Assuming classic fantasy, thus excluding space fantasy like Star Wars...
As player races, I've only encountered that in D&D, Tunnels and Trolls/Monsters! Monsters!, RuneQuest, and in Savage Worlds.
T&T/MM, the only created are living statues and animated skeletons. (There are also Nehwon Living Skeletons)
RuneQuest, all the Mostali (Dwarves) are technically golems - statues animated by their creating Mostali craftsman putting the life rune into their foot.
Savage Worlds has a race creation system in the editions I've got (several - Deluxe in multiple years), and have seen a few homebrewed but rules legal construct races.

Creation by evil wizards or evil gods is a common origin of Orcs, grounded in Tolkien having them be warping of elves. But most such games don't present them as playable characters.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It occurs to me that I have never seen warforged art that shows a warforged shaped more like a dwarf or dragonborn or other non human PC species. Huh.

As already mentioned, Eberron warforged have a particular origin and appearance, although variants and knock-offs are known to exist.

What is more interesting is the proliferation of warforged across other settings, where the Eberron backstory doesn’t apply.

I mentioned earlier the tendency for players to ignore official lore and refluff species to fit their own character concepts, and this certainly applies to warforged. They have become the default artificial person statblock in 5e.

The spread of warforged in 5e has similarities to the spread of tieflings in 2nd edition.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

1st and 2nd edition Pathfinder had the Android Race. They basically looked like humans with circuit patterns etched across their bodies.

Also in Starfinder.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

thus excluding space fantasy like Star Wars...

It would be a mistake to assume D&D players are not influenced by this.